"Where did Jesus say 'I am God, worship me'?"

25 Mar 2024 · Topics: Apologetics Islam Quran Deity of Christ

Many of our muslim friends ask “Where did Jesus say ‘I am God, worship me’?” This is a good quesstion, but what exactly does the question mean? Before I show you where and how Jesus said “I am God, worship me”, we need to clarify a few things:

Why would you expect Jesus to say this?
Does this phrase need to exist verbatim to be acceptable?
If Jesus is God, would he have to command people to worship him?
Can God be identified by other means than him saying he is God?

Why would you expect Jesus to say this?

By expecting Jesus to say this phrase, it means that you think that the reason for Jesus ministry on earth was to establish himself as God. But as we can read in the gospels, that was not his main purpose for coming to earth. Rather his main purpose was to save humanity. The fact that he is divine was a secondary issue. Therefore we should not be surprised if his divinity was not the main thing that he talked about.

Does this phrase need to exist verbatim to be acceptable?

The phrase is very specific. Does a teaching need to be expressed in exact words to be acceptable?

If so, where is the word “tawhid” in the Quran?

You can’t find it? Tawhid is a central doctrine of islam, but the word does not exist in the Quran.

Could you point me to recitation of the Shahada in the Quran?

No?

Or can you show me in the quran where it says verbatim “The bible has been corrupted”?

No? So why does Jesus need to dance to your tune and express himself in the way you want?

If Jesus is God, would he have to command people to worship him?

If it can be shown that Jesus is God, why would the phrase “worship me” be required? Wouldn’t that be the obvious reaction?

Can God be identified by other means than him saying he is God?

Anyone can say the words “I am God, worship me”, but that doesn’t mean they are God nor that we should worship them. In the first century Roman Empire, the Caesar was considered a god, and he even called himself a god. But was he really god, and did he deserve worship? No. Just saying you are god or that people should worship you means nothing unless you can back it up.

If someone is God or not is shown by their attributes, abilities, and actions. So if a person has the attributes and abilities of God and does actions only God can do then shouldn’t that be even better proof than if they just say “I am God”?

So with these things clarified, let’s proceed to where Jesus claimed to be God.

Where and how Jesus claimed to be God

Jesus not only talked the talk, but walked the walk. He not only said that he was God in various ways, but also did what only God can do. One way he said it was by his use of divine titles.

Using titles that only belong to God

In the first century middle east, gods were common. The Romans and Greeks had many many gods, and the pagans around Judea had many different gods. So if someone would say “I am god”, jews might be confused and think you’re a bit full of yourself, but they would not believe that you are the creator God Yahweh. However if you were applying one or more of Yahweh’s titles to yourself, people would get upset, accuse you of blasphemy and even stone you. And got upset with Jesus all the time because he kept using names and titles that only belong to God. I will give three examples, but there are many more.

See these articles:

The Son of man (coming on the clouds)

The title “The Son of man (coming on the clouds)” was a title from the book of Daniel 7:13,14. The Jews understood it as a prophecy about a human figure (“Son of Man”) doing something that only God does (“coming on the clouds”). They believed that this referred to a manifestation of God in human flesh.

The most common way Jesus referred to himself was as “The Son of Man”, 81 times in the gospels. And 4 times he calls himself “The son of man coming on the clouds.” In fact, the reason why he was sentenced to death by the Jews was becasue he called himself by this divine title. When they asked if he was the Son of God he sais “I AM, and you will see the Son of Man…coming on the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:61,62) The Jewish scholars knew what he meant. To them, he was saying “I am God. Not just any god, but the creator God Yahweh. Your God that you should worship.”

It’s not explicit in the text, but that’s what they understood, and that’s why they got angry, accused him of blasphemy, and sentenced him to death.

The I AM

“I AM”, or “Ahaya” in Hebrew, is the basic meaning of Yahweh, which means “He is”. This is the name that only the creator God can claim. Everyone else depends on God, but God just is. God is the “I AM”.

Jesus used this name for himself on many occations, such as in John 8:58 where he said about himself “Before Abraham was, I AM”, meaning that before Abraham even existed, Jesus existed eternally, because he is God. In John 8:59 the Jews tried to stone him for blasphemy for applying the name of God to himself.

In Mark 14:61,21 the Jewish high court asks him who he is, and he also identifies himself as “I AM”, applying the divine name to himself.

The First and the Last

In the book of Revelation, Jesus comes to visit the apostle John. Jesus introduces himself in Revelation 1:17,18, saying “I am the First and the Last”. Who is “The First and the Last”?

Isaiah 44:6;48:12;41:4 reveeals that Yahweh, the creator, says “I am the First and the Last. There is no God but me.”.

In the Quran surah 57:3 it says that “[Allah] is the First and the Last…”.

So Jesus is here applying to himself a title that only belongs to God/Allah.

Having attributes that only God has

Only God is eternal, almighty, all-knowing and ever-present. But Jesus has these attributes, so that means that he is God.

Eternality

Jesus is eternal. John 1:1-3 says that when the beginning began, Jesus “was in the beginning with God.” and “all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Colossians 1:17 says “he is before all things”, meaning he existed even before time began, and Hebrews 1:12 says about him “your years will have no end”.

Omnipotence

Jesus is almighty. Hebrews 1:3 says Jesus “he upholds the universe by the word of his power”, and Colossians 1:17 says about Jesus that “in him all things hold together” meaning that every atom in the universe exists and is sustained in existence because of Jesus’ will.

Omniscience

Jesus is all-knowing. Colossians 2:2-3 says about Jesus that “in [him] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Revelation 2:23 says he is the one who knows the hearts and minds.

Omnipresence

Jesus is ever-present. He himself said in Matthew 18:20 that “where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them”, meaning he can be present at billions of places at the same time. In Matthew 28:20 he said “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” and Ephesians 1:23 says he is “him who fills all in all”.

Only God has these attributes.

Having abilities that only God has

There are some things only God has the ability to do. Here are a few examples.

Controlling the weather and walking on water

Doing things only God is allowed to do

There are things only God is allowed to do, like these things:

Forgiving sins

Scriptures like Daniel 9:9 says only God has the right to forgive sins. Yet in Mark 2:5-12 it says “And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”” At which people became upset and said “He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” They were right, only God had the right to do that. And Jesus did it because he is God.

Accepting worship

In the gospels, the disciples many times worship Jesus even as a man. (Matthew 14:33;28:9) In John 20:28 Thomas bowed before him an adressed him as “My Lord and my God!” and Jesus didn’t rebuke him but said “Finally you believe!” In Hebrews 1:6 it says that all angels worship Jesus. Philippians 2:10 says that sooner or later, every knee will bow in worship before Jesus christ, submitting to him as Lord.

Accepting prayer

In John 14:14 Jesus tells us “whatever you ask me in my name, I will do this.” This means Jesus is accepting prayer, is is able to hear prayer which means he is omniscient, and he is able to perform what we ask, which means he is omnipotent.

The early christians were referred to those who “call on the name of Jesus”. Calling upon the name of Jesus means ther were praying to and worshiping him. (Acts 9:14,21; 21:16; 1 Cor 1:2) In 2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Paul prays to Jesus several times.

Conclusion

Through what he said and did, Jesus showed in many way that he is indeed divine, a part of the holy divinity. He is the Eternal Word of God, who manifested in the flesh of humanity, and lived for a while with us.

For further reading, please see:

Thyreon The Shield of Faith